Since Wajahat Nazeer, fondly known as Naz, stepped into the Senior Treasury Accountant role at BCI Minerals, it has been non-stop action. He joined the company at a pivotal moment, just as the finance team were finalising the contractual close of the $981 million Syndicated Facility Agreement.
Naz’s role at BCI has since evolved, offering him a wide range of responsibilities with a particular focus on financial modelling, investment analysis, and debt analysis.
One of his standout achievements was his work on the ramp-up model, where his tenacious nature drove him to explore additional by-products BCI could potentially monetise.
Thriving in an analytical environment, Naz often likens his work to solving a complex puzzle, where each piece adds to a bigger picture.
Q: What is your role at BCI and what does it involve?
A: I started in November 2023, working in the corporate finance and treasury function of BCI Minerals.
My first task was to support the contractual close for the debt facility and then I assisted with the equity raise and financial close.
In our work, there are often a lot of questions people ask or scenarios we have to run. We take the ideas, put them into numbers and quantify them, which is what I enjoy about the role.
In the last 12 months, my role has involved financial modelling, investment analysis, debt analysis and managing any ad hoc requests.
Q: What was your career journey to get here?
A: I’m originally from Pakistan, and I moved to Australia to study accounting, but the finance side of things is what intrigues me.
Besides the treasury function or investment analysis, I find equity market quite interesting. In my spare time, I will often pick up a random company and evaluate the business to come up with its valuation and invest in it.
My first job was at St John of God Health, one of Australia’s largest healthcare providers, where I spent around seven years. I initially started working in catering there while I was at university, but I talked to one of the accountants and asked if I could get some experience in the field.
While it was unpaid, I was quickly working across different departments and building key connections. In 2014/15, I started in accounts receivable, but I was still an immigrant, and I didn’t have my permanent residency or my citizenship. I’m thankful they gave me my first job in accounting as a graduate. I was on a bridging visa, and they really took a chance on me.
As part of my rotation, I ended up in Treasury, which opened a whole new world of things I was interested in. BCI’s Manager Finance and Treasury, Duncan Scott, was my manager back then as well, and I was able to get involved in the equity side of finance.
Here I learnt the basics, and eventually Duncan gave me a call for a role at BCI, and I took it.
Q: What do you like about your job at BCI?
A: I recently helped with the ramp-up model, and while finance is the end result, you’ve got to know all the stuff that’s happening in the business as well.
Everybody is focused on salt, but there are other products in the seawater, and I’ve been thinking about how we can potentially monetise that. The better the understanding you have, then the more opportunities you can find for the business.
BCI is sitting on so much, it's not just salt; there is sulphate of potash (SOP), but there are also other products in those waters as well.
I’m really lucky that my team is thinking about it the same way. It’s like a brain teaser and I love it. The more challenging a job is, the better it is for me personally.
Q: What do you do in your spare time?
A: It can be a struggle to decide what to do on the weekend. It’s usually a combination of outdoor fun like brunches and picnics – which is what my fiancé, Joanne, likes – and staying indoors to do reading or research.
We are also trying to travel a bit more, and this year is fully booked out. We are going to Singapore, Malaysia (twice), and Mauritius.
Q: You recently got engaged, what was the proposal like?
A: We have been together for eight years, so it was the right time. I wasn’t sure where I was going to propose, but we were heading to Japan so I decided on Osaka Castle.
When I was about to propose, I saw this guy and I asked him to take a photo because I was about to propose. He didn’t hear me, and he started getting annoyed because the setting was on video, and he thought I wanted a picture. My fiancé started panicking, so I took the ring out and proposed. Luckily, the guy caught on and started videoing us with a nice frame.
We are planning the wedding for 2026. We have a long planning period because we have 10 of our friends getting married. We were the first ones to get engaged, but we are the last ones to get married.
Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?
A: I would say to keep doing what you’re doing but get more hands-on experience. I think the biggest struggle I had professionally when I came out of university was there was such a big disconnect between theoretical knowledge and practical knowledge.
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“Salt of the Earth” is a series where we get to know our dedicated team members.
To see the current opportunities at BCI Minerals, please visit our careers page: https://www.bciminerals.com.au/careers.html